Gayle King tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, forcing her to step away from work for the day. The CBS Mornings co-host posted an Instagram video of herself leaving the studio after her test came back. She believes this is her first time contracting the novel coronavirus.
“OK, the thing I’ve been dreading has finally happened,” King said in the clip. “I just tested positive for… I got the Rona. They run a test, another test, we’re going to take one more just to be sure. But in the meantime, I’ve been asked to leave the building and go home.” The video was about 35 seconds long. It showed King’s co-anchor Nate Burleson approaching her and asking if she was alright, but other personnel stepped in to try and separate the two. King wore two masks, and those around her were masked as well.
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“I’m double-vaxxed and boosted, go figure,” King said dryly. She posted another update a few hours later when she got home. She revealed that she had taken three PCR tests, all of which came back positive, and then an at-home test which came back positive as well. She admitted that she had been hoping for a false positive right up until the last moment.
“So, I tested negative – we get tested all the time at CBS – I tested negative on Friday, was good. Woke up on Saturday, felt a slight cold, but I’ve had that before, so I wasn’t overly concerned. Came in today and took another test, and it was positive,” she said. “So, I’m trying to think of where I’ve been, what I’ve done, and right now nothing really comes to mind for me.”
King added that she has had four vaccine shots now, and that her symptoms are extremely mild. Still, her commenters worried that she could well have been at the most contagious part of the illness when she went to work on Monday morning. King was even on the very beginning of the broadcast on Monday before the production staff got her test results back and sent her home.
At the time of this writing, the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that King should stay at home and isolate from others for at least 5 days. That isolation period should begin on “the first full day after your symptoms developed” – so, in King’s case, Sunday. However, some companies and workplaces are still following the older CDC guidelines, which would have recommended a 10-day isolation period.
While 5 days is the new minimum, the CDC recommends that King continue to isolate until she has been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication. She must also be reasonably sure that her symptoms are improving. Meanwhile, King’s co-workers are not required to isolate from each other or from anyone else following their contact with her since they are all up to date on their vaccinations and boosters. However, they are all advised to get tested themselves over the next few days.
So far, King and CBS News have not announced a plan for bringing her back to work. Many fans are waiting eagerly for another update on the anchor’s condition. Check the CDC’s website for all the latest information on the pandemic.
